Philippines: Remittances growth slows in March
May 16, 2016
In March, cash remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) rose 1.5% over the same month last year and reached USD 2.4 billion. The reading marked the slowest expansion in four months and followed March’s notable 9.1% rise. The overall trend stabilized, as cash remittances totaled USD 26.0 billion in the 12 months up to March, which mirrored February’s record-high reading. The reading represented a 3.4% expansion over the same period of the previous year, which was down from February’s 4.6% rise. Remittances, which accounted for approximately 9.8% of GDP in 2015, are an important source of income for many Filipino families and thus a main driver of private consumption. Remittances came mainly from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect private consumption to grow 6.1% in 2016, which is unchanged from last month’s projection. For 2017, the panel expects private consumption to expand 5.7%.
